"i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th

[JohnBoucher]

I was very pleased with the program last night. I was especially pleased with the depth of the introduction they gave Dean. They did not just focus on the Segway. It was a nice job.

I complained earlier and still do that there could of been a more direct how to contact us message. I asked one of my friends who watched last night if she wanted more info did she know how to get it. This is her response

I searched the net and found if I used "FIRST" keyword, it brought me to where I could refine search to First Robotics. From there I linked to SSC First Robotics where under "Community" it showed where I could find local teams. Susan Glasspiegel is listed as contact for CT. Roundabout way but if I, as not an especially internet savvy person,.could find it, let's hope any interested young person will, too.

FYI not everyone uses Google. It comes up first in Google because Google gave that to us.

[plnyyanks]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

FYI not everyone uses Google. It comes up first in Google because Google gave that to us.

I can't attest to the accuracy of this statement, but I did try searching for "first" on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, AOL, and Comcast and all of them had 'usfirst.org' come up as the first hit. Now, assuming you have internet access, it should be pretty easy to find FIRST, regardless of search engine preference (that's a debate for another thread...)

EDIT: actually, maybe not- see below

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by plnyyanks

I can't attest to the accuracy of this statement, but I did try searching for "first" on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, AOL, and Comcast and all of them had 'usfirst.org' come up as the first hit. Now, assuming you have internet access, it should be pretty easy to find FIRST, regardless of search engine preference (that's a debate for another thread...)

An average non-FIRST searcher may not get those same results. See http://dontbubble.us/ for more info.

[plnyyanks]

Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday

An average non-FIRST searcher may not get those same results. See http://dontbubble.us/ for more info.

Ah, right. Forgot about that. Good call.

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

FYI not everyone uses Google. It comes up first in Google because Google gave that to us.

Not everyone watches TV. Are we now going to fault them for not using talk radio, telegraph, and semaphore?

Most people in a position to become interested in FIRST uses the internet. Most of them use Google.

'Nuff said.

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

Not everyone watches TV. Are we now going to fault them for not using talk radio, telegraph, and semaphore?

Most people in a position to become interested in FIRST uses the internet. Most of them use Google.

'Nuff said.

Is this what people think of when they so easily dismiss certain segments of the population from being "worthy" of FIRST's attention as people who have the potential to contribute something great to society?

Jed tells his Pa Cletus:

Hey Pa, I shore wont ta figgur out what all dem fancy contraptions was on da movin pictures show, mebbe lern how ta make sumthin outta mehself among dem dere city slickers.

Cletus: I shore wuld love ta help ya son, but dang gummit the pictures didna tell us nuttin about what ta do next.

Jed: Guessin' I should figgur to go back ta shootin groundhogs and possum on pappy's farm.

******

I surely hope not.

I'll have to watch the show again, but I don't believe any of the team/individual "stories" highlighted students coming from extremely rural areas who had previously never heard of FIRST or related opportunities.

Final input - if there was some significant monetary cost or FCC legal restriction or what have you that prohibits the website address to be displayed on the screen during such network programs, then fine, I can accept that. I've yet to hear anything like that brought to light, though.

Otherwise, people are simply making excuses for an oversight that would likely take minutes, if not seconds for those who produced the show to correct, increasing the likelihood and speed at which those who are not computer literate (or worse) can find out more about our programs. A small addition of input by one person can lead to huge, as yet unrealized gains for many. Simply fix it and move on.

[JohnBoucher]

On a brighter note..... Since this was on ABC, will ESPN get back on board?????

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

Jed tells his Pa Cletus:

Hey Pa, I shore wont ta figgur out what all dem fancy contraptions was on da movin pictures show, mebbe lern how ta make sumthin outta mehself among dem dere city slickers.

Cletus: I shore wuld love ta help ya son, but dang gummit the pictures didna tell us nuttin about what ta do next.

Jed: Guessin' I should figgur to go back ta shootin groundhogs and possum on pappy's farm.

Wow, Travis.

You've lost me on this one. What is your point? Who is your target audience here?

Jane

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

Is this what people think of when they so easily dismiss certain segments of the population from being "worthy" of FIRST's attention as people who have the potential to contribute something great to society?

I have no idea how you took a statement about the ubiquitousness of the internet (and Google) as a statement of elitism.

Give us rednecks more credit -- if we see it on TV and want to know more, we know how to look for it.

It was an oversight, to be sure, but at most it was a very small one.

[RayTurner1126]

personally i think we should all be greatful will.i.am did this for us. yes, it wasn't what we all expected, but that's because we already know everything the program presented, it's like watching a documentary about yourself or something, you are going to see every little detail they left out. will.i.am didn't have to do this, and neither did any of the celebrities that participated. would you all rather not have a special about FIRST and be left without the publicity it did give us? I wouldn't, I say thank you to will.i.am for helping me in my journey to spread the word of FIRST. Now when I'm recruiting I can say "How many other school functions have the support of so many celebrities?" And that is GREAT to be able to say!

So thank you to will.i.am, ABC, and everyone else involved in making this great program!

[Eagleeyedan]

Originally Posted by RayTurner1126

personally i think we should all be greatful will.i.am did this for us. yes, it wasn't what we all expected, but that's because we already know everything the program presented, it's like watching a documentary about yourself or something, you are going to see every little detail they left out. will.i.am didn't have to do this, and neither did any of the celebrities that participated. would you all rather not have a special about FIRST and be left without the publicity it did give us? I wouldn't, I say thank you to will.i.am for helping me in my journey to spread the word of FIRST. Now when I'm recruiting I can say "How many other school functions have the support of so many celebrities?" And that is GREAT to be able to say!

So thank you to will.i.am, ABC, and everyone else involved in making this great program!

I agree. For a program that was put to gether in a matter of months and one that got all those stars together, it was good! I'm sure if they had more time there would have been more footage of the team's and their experiences

[TimSchley]

Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday

An average non-FIRST searcher may not get those same results. See http://dontbubble.us/ for more info.

Even using the "non-search bubble search engine" that the website provides, usfirst.org is still the first website that comes up.

http://duckduckgo.com/?q=First

Yes, I know that the search bubble for other people could potentially move usfirst.org DOWN in their results, as well as move it UP for our results, but still the fact is, it is most likely going to be near the top of search results for anybody that is that interested in getting involved in FIRST.


On another note, Looks like the ratings (http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/201...f-more/100424/ ) are in with the broadcast getting approx. 2.17 million viewers. that's not counting DVR or online viewers. Not too shabby.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday

An average non-FIRST searcher may not get those same results. See http://dontbubble.us/ for more info.

Though FIRST is also the first result for DuckDuckGo which does not have a filter bubble.

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Though FIRST is also the first result for DuckDuckGo which does not have a filter bubble.

That's not the point.... most people don't use DDG, they use search engines that do filtering. And if you're the type of person who's currently NOT interested in science & technology, and instead spends all their online time reading about sports, fashion, music, celebrities, or whatever (you know, the type of people FIRST is probably trying to reach the most), the first page of results you get very well might not contain usfirst.org at all.

I've had some surprising difficulty finding information on topics that are outside of my normal interests before when keywords for those topics overlap keywords that do fall within my normal searching habits. Most people don't realize what a large effect this "bubble" has. It really works against you when the word people are searching for ("FIRST") has meaning in just about any context.

[DSM33]

on the topic of making FIRST a "spectator friendly" sport for TV and such i think the FIRST in Michigan special needs to be looked at. If following a team is hard to follow just check out their personal robocam on either side of the screen. If the scoring is too difficult to follow then look at the score in the top bar (although it seemed mysteriously empty this year)

also the game needs to be spectator friendly. 2010's Breakaway was perfect for that. Simple scoring. No weird multipliers. Overall very uncomplicated gameplay. not that this game should be repeated every year but i think some elements need to stay so that the gameplay is exciting as well as easy to follow.

another problem with airing a FIRST competition on TV: it's two days long. the only real way to do a competition justice is to do eliminations as it should avoid robots breaking down/deadbots, extended periods of time for field problems, and non-exciting matches with the best teams. Again, FIRST in Michigan kept it to the semifinals and that seemed to work perfectly.

Hopefully, next this special will showcase the excitement of the competition as well as showcasing life-changing stories of FIRST and concert/celebrity stuff. I think this special can only get better from here on out.